Climate, Environment and Health

The effects of rising motorization impact both on the environment and the human wellbeing. Greenhouse gas emissions contribute to global warming, and local emissions such as particulate matter affect the local air quality. Road accidents have become a serious concern especially for vulnerable road users, while the benefits of active mobility for human health are only now being recognized. The documents in this section provide insights and approaches on greener and healthier urban transport.

With the following map the SUTP-Team wants to give an overview on plans and strategies concerned with improving air quality, lowering local emissions and improve road safety for all road users:

Please note that this overview is not complete. If you know about a plan or strategy concerned with improving air quality, lowering local emissions and improve road safety that is not listed or about changes to the listed plans, we would appreciate if you could inform us by writing to transport@giz.de.

Our Publications

Find hereafter publications such as case studies, fact sheets, technical and training documents, all dealing with climate, environmental and health issues in conjunction with transport:

iNUA #4: Enhancing Road Safety

The fourth SUTP iNUA factsheet focuses on road safety as an increasing risk in the progress of urbanisation and economic growth. In urban areas, especially pedestrians and cyclists are exposed to a higher risk of road accidents involving death or severe injury. We explore a number of measures contributing to higher urban road safety and provides basic guidance for policy-makers and interested citizens.

First edition: 2017

Download here: (Click on the flag for the respective language)

SUTP Module 5b - Urban Road Safety

Road traffic crashes result in around 1.3 million deaths annually. A disproportionate amount is in developing countries, with the victims often being pedestrians and cyclists. This module describes how road safety is organised at a city government level, how it is assessed (including the use of tools such as road crash diagrams), how safer road environments can be created, and the importance of public awareness, enforcement, safer vehicles, and sound financing.

Download here (revised edition, 2017): (Click on the flag for the respective language)

Infographic – A comprehensive approach for road safety: The example of Germany

About 3,400 people die every day in road traffic accidents around the world. A further 50 million people are injured every year. To reduce injuries and fatalities, many proven measures are available – from better infrastructure to safer vehicles, better enforcement & education and improved emergency medical services. Our infographic illustrates the comprehensive approach that Germany has taken as a response to sharply rising fatality rates since the 1950s - comprising a bundle of measures that can inspire policymakers and experts elsewhere.

First edition: 2015.

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SUTP Module 5a - Air Quality Management

This module serves to assist policy-makers and their advisers in developing countries to determine the best measures to abate air pollution with limited information. It provides advice on developing legally enforceable air quality standards and simplified clean air implementation plans. The module explains basic concepts of air pollution, sources and types of pollution, major pollutants, WHO and other standards, air quality monitoring, air quality management plans, and emissions inventories.

First edition: 2002/2004.

Download here (revised edition, 2009): (Click on the flag for the respective language)

SUTP Module 4f - Eco-Driving

This module addresses the concept of economic and ecological driving for developing cities. It shows how costs can be reduced (and efficiency increased) by influencing driving behavior. The module addresses various aspects pertaining to driving patterns, advantages of eco-driving and gives clear examples of how these targets have been (and in future can be) achieved.

First edition: 2005.

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SUTP Module 5c - Noise and its Abatement

Noise is emerging as an insidious problem in developing cities, even though it is not currently perceived as a major problem. A major source of noise in cities is urban road transport. This module introduces basic concepts of measuring noise, describes its health effects, provides recommended noise level standards, and outlines six key policy areas where governments can take action in transport to reduce this problem.

First edition: 2011.

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SUTP Module 5d - The CDM in the transport sector

Since the advent of Kyoto Protocol in 2005, many countries, both developed and developing, have embraced the concept of Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) in order to reduce their carbon emissions. This module discusses the viability of sustainable transport projects to be qualified under the CDM mechanism which will thereby benefit from GHG offset sales. The module also presents a case study on Bogotá’s BRT system TransMilenio, the first officially registered CDM project for transport.

First edition: 2007.

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SUTP Module 5e - Urban Transport and Climate Change

The module summarises the challenges that climate change mitigation has to face in the transport sector and presents the major options and instruments to deal with them. The module is a comprehensive summary of sustainable transport policy options and sketches out their potential for the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions. To ease access to more detailed information, the module includes many references to the other sourcebook modules.

Download here (revised edition, 2014): (Click on the flag for the respective language)

SUTP Module 5f - Adapting Urban Transport to Climate Change

Many transport decision-makers in developing countries are already confronted with extreme weather events, such as flooding, sea level rise and storms, all of which are expected to increase with climate change. In the worst case, transportation systems may not be able to recover between such events, resulting in exponential damages. This module is intended to raise awareness and describes the expected impacts of climate change on urban passenger transport as well as possible adaptation measures.

First edition: 2009.

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SUTP Module 5g - Urban Transport and Health

The module, written by a team of World Health Organization (WHO) experts using the most up-to-date data available, illustrates the pathways through which urban transportation affects human health. It provides information about instruments to assess the health impacts – or benefits – of transport projects and policies. The Module also outlines policies for healthy transport, and shows how these can yield important co-benefits with regard to other principles of sustainable transportation (e.g. GHG mitigation).

First edition: 2011.

Download here: (Click on the flag for the respective language)

SUTP Module 5h - Urban Transport and Energy Efficiency

The Module 5h serves as a navigator for decision makers and stakeholders, including local and national authorities, the private sector and non-governmental organisations. It provides a comprehensive overview of measures and policies designed to promote greater energy efficiency in transport, and assigns specific tasks and responsibilities to particular parties. Case studies illustrate international experiences in implementing measures to increase energy efficiency in transport.

First edition: 2012.

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GIZ International Fuel Price Series

The bi-annual International Fuel Prices report provides an overview of the retail prices of gasoline and diesel in over 170 countries and thus aims to offer a worldwide comparison. It explores recent trends and case studies on fuel prices and fuel pricing policies in developing countries. Additionally, further publications provide more in-depth analyses of fossil fuel related issues in specific countries. Lastly, the GIZ International Fuel Price Database provides a collection of country factsheets as well as information on technologies, energy use and cross-cutting issues related to global fuel prices and policies.

A practical guide for developing country's governments on how to access climate funds for sustainable land transport interventions, focusing on climate change mitigation and existing and proposed sources of climate finance in the context of the land transport sector.

First edition: 2010.

Download here (revised edition, 2013): (Click on the flag for the respective language)

This paper shows how national and/or urban low-carbon transportation policies could help countries to achieve a smart, sustainable economic growth while at the same time stabilizing and later reducing transport emissions. Sustainable development policies and measures in the transport sector include a variety of co-benefits, e.g. reduced air pollution, social equity and economic development.

First edition: 2011.

Download here: (Click on the flag for the respective language)

SUTP Technical Document #7 - Sustainable Transport Evaluation

The study outlines options for choosing appropriate indicators and evaluation schemes for sustainable transport. It also summarizes the benefits of an evaluation scheme not only for national and local governments, but also for donors and the scientific community.

The SUTP Case Study deals with the transition process from informal paratransit services to a full-scale BRT scheme in Johannesburg, South Africa. It provides a rare, detailed insight in the complicated but successful negotiations between the City of Johannesburg and representatives of more than 300 individual minibus-taxi owners.

In response to increasing demand for mobility, the report examines various approaches aiming at more sustainable and efficient energy usage in the transport sector. Such approaches would inevitably involve investment in technological inventions as well as require the intensification of international cooperation.

First edition: 2014.

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Technical Document - Transport Readiness for Climate Finance

The paper provides an insight into transport climate finance from both public and private sources and identifies components of readiness to access transport climate finance. Readiness is a process of improving conditions to access financing and leveraging investment in the recipient country, so that they reflect the capability to plan for, access, and operationalize financing, and to monitor and report on impacts.

In an effort to understand the effectiveness of transportation measures to reduce emissions and meet the carbon emission reduction targets in China, quantifying emission releases is a fundamental requirement, nonetheless publicly accessible emission factor databases are not available. This report presents such a China transport emission quantification tool by adapting the Handbook of Emission Factors for Road Transport (HBEFA) into an advanced bottom-up emission model – the China Road Transport Emission Model (CRTEM) and a Chinese emission factor database (HBEFA-China).

First edition: 2015.

Download here: (Click on the flag for the respective language)

Technical Document - GHG Reporting and Inventorying in Germany

This report aims to provide information on GHG emissions, an overview of the institutionalisation of inventory planning, preparation and management as well as a general description of the data and methods used for the calculation of transport related emissions. Thus the report provides insight on Germany’s efforts to reduce its emissions as part of the Kyoto Protocol.

This report supports the activities to assess the availability and characteristics of data required for establishing a GHG emission quantification model in Chinese cities. Such a model would significantly aid the Chinese government’s efforts to address energy security and climate change by reducing carbon dioxide emissions.

This report provides an insight into the current status and future prospects of the electrification revolution of the motor vehicle industry in China. Environmental impact assessments of pilot projects with hybrid electric vehicles (HEV), plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV) and battery electric vehicles (BEV) are summarized and further recommendations for tackling China’s climate and environmental challenges are proposed.

Download here (Version 2.0, 2013): (Click on the flag for the respective language)

Technical Document - Reducing Carbon Emissions through TDM Strategies

The report discusses examples of transport demand management, in order to examine how TDM strategies can offer truly sustainable solutions for increased motor vehicle travel and associated traffic problems and help to achieve multiple planning objectives in Beijing.

This report reviews existing data, policies and international donor activity in the area of sustainable transport in Thailand, in order to provide policy-makers, researchers, international donors and other stakeholders a reference document for sustainable transport and climate change.

First edition: 2014.

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Mobilise Your City: Monitoring & Reporting Approach for GHG Emissions

This publication sets out the GHG monitoring and reporting principles for the MobiliseYourCity Partnership. A focus is placed on the ex-post monitoring of GHG emission developments in urban transport. That being said, a rough ex-ante estimate of the initiative’s potential GHG emission reductions is already required in order to a) inform the prioritisation of measures and b) to make the implementation of SUMP attractive to international climate finance donors.

This publication has been developed within the MobiliseYourCity Partnership in collaboration with the project “Advancing climate strategies in rapidly motorising countries”, funded by the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety.

First edition: 2017.

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Knowledge wiki – Resilience & Adaptation in the transport sector

An efficient transportation system can play an important role towards making a city more resilient against shocks and disasters, many (but not all) of which are induced by climate change. A resilient transport system can be achieved by designing, developing and maintaining transport infrastructure that is able to withstand and recover from shocks, and by creating an adequate institutional framework.

The Wiki on resilience & adaptation in the transport sector provides information on resources, implementation projects and research on resilience in the transport sector, with a focus on adaptation towards climate change.

A Status Report on the Contribution of Sustainable Transport to the Implementation of Rio +20

This report assesses the implementation of the voluntary commitments entered into at Rio+20. In reaching those commitments, it is particularly important to create transformative change through the Avoid-Shift-Improve approach in order to provide improved and inclusive access to transport services and infrastructure as well as improving the economic, social and environmental sustainability of transport.

This publication explores why electric motorcycles are still a rare sight on Thailand's streets, and provides recommendations to help speed up their arrival on the asphalt of Bangkok and other cities across the country, and also has relevance to other ASEAN countries. Published in Febrary 2015.

Download here: (Click on the flag for the respective language)

Fact Sheet - Sustainable Urban Transport: Avoid-Shift-Improve (A-S-I)

A quick introduction to our approach for sustainable urban mobility. Published in 2011.

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Fact Sheet - Transport in a Green Economy

An overview on how transport can contribute to a Green Economy. Published in 2011.

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Fact Sheet - Environmental (EZ) or Low Emission Zones (LEZ)

An insight into the trend to combine congestion charging and environmental restrictions in Environmental or Low Emission Zones in cities. Published in 2014.

Different cities across the world have introduced LEZ to manage air quality in urban areas. Well-known examples include the “London Low Emission Zone” and the “Umweltzone” implemented in many German cities such as Berlin. A newly released factsheet further investigates these two examples and the success factors of each policy.

First edition: 2014.

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Reading List on Tools for Sustainable Urban Transport Experts

A guide to standards & toolkits, quantification tools, design guidelines and cost comparisons. Published in February 2014.

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Reading List on Road Safety

Recommended relevant reading and links on the topic of road safety. Published in 2009.

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Reading List on Urban Transport and Health

Recommended relevant reading and links on the topic of urban transport and health, including an overview of key organisations and development goals. Published in 2010.

Download here: (Click on the flag for the respective language)

Reading List on Low Carbon Transport

Recommended relevant reading and links on the topic of Low Carbon Transport in cities. Published in 2011.

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Reading List on Renewables in Rail Transport

Recommended relevant reading and links on the role of renewables in rail transport. Published in 2014.